I've just dug out a passage on the toning of grounds in "The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting," written by Max Doerner, a professor in the Academy of the Finer Arts in Munich, first published in 1921. His comments touch on a lot which has been covered in this thread.
I'll post a few quotes which may be relevant here:
"The Gothic masters and those of the early Renaissance toned their white gypsum grounds with thin reddish or yellowish, also greenish coats of earth colours (so called imprimatura), which reduced the absorbent quality of the ground. They were also used as middle tones in the picture."
And on Rubens's technique:
"Rubens went over his dazzling white gypsum grounds, laid on wood, with a mixture of ground hard charcoal, some white colour, and some binding medium (probably glue). This coat was applied quickly with a sponge and had a striped silvery grey tone which gave to the subsequent thin coats of colour an unusually loose, pleasing, and live appearance. If a sponge or brush is passed back and forth over such a coat, the latter quickly dissolves, and the tone becomes uniformly grey and like an ordinary coat of paint. On the other hand, there are to be found solidly painted coats of grey ground on canvases by Rubens, Van Dyck, and many other masters."
Some general comments on toned grounds:
"This much may be said in a general way concerning the effects of coloured grounds upon a painting: white grounds permit the greatest degree of colourfulness-all colours look well on white. On the other hand, the proper relating of colours on a white ground is more difficult; the picture may easily become too cold and flat. The well-trained painter knows how to combat the danger of too high colouring through the proper and free use of cold, warm, and contrasting colour tones. It is possible to work both in glazes and opaquely on a white ground. On a toned ground only an opaque technique is possible, that is to say, the darker the ground the more opaque should be the technique. Through a semi-opaque technique which allows the ground to be active result the "optical greys" which were used by the old masters Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and many others. These greys have a more charming quality than painted greys."
Some more comments on how grounds effect the subsequent layers, specifically for portraiture:
"On light grey grounds, as on grey underpainting, the colour becomes more dull and earthy. This is desired by many painters and has a good effect in the painting of flesh, especially when the ground is used to help the effect. Grey-green tones of Veronese green earth are effective for flesh tones, as well as for the all pervading tone of the picture. On coloured grounds such as light ochre, or, for example, on red, the colour range of the picture is reduced, for the contrasting tones of blue or green are weakened or even broken; but the harmony of the picture as a whole is heightened."
"Umber grounds are not to be recommended; on umber all light colours change and become dark."
And a nice final quote:
"It is certain that all sorts of fine effects as yet unexploited may be achieved on coloured grounds."
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